Deserve much more as an actor: Indraneil

It’s 50 years of Satyajit Ray’s cult classic ‘Sonar Kella’, which introduced Soumitra Chatterjee as the favourite detective, Feluda, on the big screen. Over the years, several actors like Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Abir Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterjee and Tota Roy Chowdhury have stepped into this iconic role, but Indraneil Sengupta seems to share a particularly special connection with it. Born in 1974, the same year ‘Sonar Kella’ was released, Indraneil actually approached director Sandip Ray to ask if he could play Feluda. And here’s a fun coincidence: Indraneil shares his birthday, September 8, with both Sabyasachi Chakraborty (Benu da) and Sandip Ray (Babu da). “Maybe it was destined for me to play Feluda,” said Indraneil, who is thrilled with how audiences have enjoyed his recent portrayal of Felu Mitter in the Bengali film ‘Nayan Rahasya’.

Indraneil also shared an interesting secret about Sandip Ray. Although he appears to be quite serious, Indraneil revealed that the director has a passion for hardcore action films. During breaks from shooting, they often discussed action series like ‘John Wick’, ‘The Equalizer’ and ‘Reacher’. “In fact, Babu da was the one who recommended ‘Reacher’ to me,” he said.

It’s a proven fact that Bengalis nearly have an ‘obsession’ with Feluda and Indraneil believes much of it stems from Satyajit Ray’s exceptional writing and storytelling. “I have friends in Mumbai who have read Feluda in English. The writing is exceptional, especially in Bengali,” said the actor, known for his roles in ‘Mishor Rohoshyo’ and ‘Arekti Premer Golpo’.

Meanwhile, the actor is also gearing up for the release of Suman Ghosh’s ‘Puratawn’, starring Sharmila Tagore and Rituparna Sengupta. However, there’s been a consistent complaint from Bengali audiences: why is Indraneil seen so rarely in Bengali films? To this, the ‘Kahaani’ actor has a ready reply. “Ask the makers. Honestly, in terms of my ability as an actor, I think I deserve much more,” he said.

Indraneil has worked with renowned directors like Atanu Ghosh, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Rituparno Ghosh, Srijit Mukherji, Kaushik Ganguly and Bratya Basu, to name a few. Among these, Srijit’s ‘Autograph’ was a blockbuster. Did he think it would change the trajectory of his career in Bengali films? “I wasn’t counting on ‘Autograph’ to change things for me. I wasn’t counting on anything to change things for me. But if they haven’t, I’m not to blame because I think I’ve done good work in a lot of films,” he said.

In recent news about his personal life, Indraneil opened up about his daughter Meira for the first time since his separation from wife-actor Barkha Bisht. Indraneil said that he felt the need to clear the picture that was coming across, whether intentional or not. “I was coming across as a father who was shrugging off the responsibility of my daughter, which I want to clarify that I am absolutely fulfilling. I thought it was important to put it across so that I don’t get painted in a way that suggests I have deserted the family and washed my hands off,” he said.

Not a big social media user, Indraneil mainly shares photos he loves to click on ‘Instagram’. But is he worried about follower counts, given that actors are now chosen based on that? “I’ve heard about it and it’s really unfortunate. We’re getting caught up in social media and I think that’s a problem. It’s not social media itself, but how people use it,” he signed off.